The Goddess of Sibyl
by Elias Pedro
Summary: The Great Mitakihara Crisis of 2099 has long since passed, but the wounds of the strange conflict have yet to heal. Kyouko Sakura, the once lively girl from Kasamino, finds her life in disarray as she awakens 11 years later in the MSWB Rehabilitation Facility a much older woman with a clouded hue. She wonders where she's headed and longs for things she lost along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** Hello everyone! Here's my revitalized PMMM-Psycho-Pass Crossover project, back to life after so long! This is a story I'm writing in tandem with The Goddess of Sibyl quest in Sufficient Velocity, so check it out if you wish! Also, since this is a relatively new project, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think!

With that aside, welcome to the story and here's The Goddess of Sibyl!

 **...**

 **Prologue**

 _December 8, 2108 - Evening_

A shrill, muffled scream echoed through the speakers of the cold, dimly-lit observation room of the Hikari no Sono Rehabilitation Center as the tall, bespectacled Inspector Nobuchika Ginoza gazed through the room's one-sided window with a grim expression. At the other side of the mirror was the facility's processing center, painted and illuminated in blinding white where a wild, red-haired woman was restrained to an elevated chair, wrapped in thick leather straps that all but covered her violently writhing figure. The woman's hair was disheveled and what parts of her body that wasn't covered by the straps were blackened with dried blood - most of which was not hers.

A furious flame burned in the wild woman's eyes as she screamed at the top of her lungs, crying out some incomprehensible harangue to something or someone that wasn't there. The only other things in the empty, blindingly white room were the two medical drones that were fastening her restraints and the Sibyl System's standard hue scanner. The woman's burning eyes met the electronic retina of the scanner and then the woman fell silent.

Her violent expression had suddenly turned into a low, looming dread as a fit of brewing hysteria started to take hold. From behind the window, Ginoza adjusted his glasses as he looked down on the woman below. He then watched as one of the medical drones rolled over to the woman's side and drew a syringe.

"Now's our chance. Sedate her." Ginoza ordered, speaking to the face of a watch-like device he wore on his wrist. The Inspector's brow then crumpled as she watched the panic rising in the woman's now fearful eyes, "Hurry! Hurry before she goes mad again!"

The drone then did its duty, and the woman fell into a lull as her once fiery eyes went blank and the processing center fell silent.

Inspector Ginoza tore his eyes away from the sorry sight then lowered his head, letting the bangs of his hair cast a shadow over his brow. The twenty-four year old man shuddered as he recalled the events of the past few hours and the pains he and his colleagues took to take this red-haired girl into custody. As his spirits sagged, a mechanical prosthetic hand then gently patted his right shoulder and gave him a start.

"Are you alright, Inspector?" The husky voice of a much older Enforcer Tomomi Masaoka asked as he stepped beside the shuddering Ginoza, "This campaign dragged on longer than expected after all."

"I'm fine, Enforcer." Ginoza hissed coldly as he brushed off the Enforcer's hand and turned away, "And this campaign is far from over, so there's no time to be tired." The Inspector's glasses then shone as he turned to the one-sided mirror to the processing center and watched the sedated woman's eyes head droop to the side, "Besides, we're not done with her yet."

"Huh? What do you mean we're not done?" Masaoka's surprise spilled out to his tone.

"We're going to have a memory scoop done on her." Ginoza said with his back turned to the Enforcer, "The sooner we do it, the better."

"A memory scoop? In her condition?" Masaoka argued, turning his eyes from the restrained woman beyond the glass and the Inspector standing before him, "That little girl's not going to survive…"

"Did I ask for your opinion, Enforcer?" Ginoza's reply was sharp, turning the Enforcer's concerned expression into suspicion.

"Nobuchika…" The Enforcer started with a grave tone, "Are these orders from Chief Kasei again?"

The Inspector didn't answer the question and started walking towards the observation room's door as he gave his marching orders,

"Call headquarters and have Karanomori ready the machine. That's final, Enforcer."

Masaoka's brow crumpled as he watched the Inspector walk out the door. The Enforcer then stole one last glance through the one-sided window. He saw the beginnings of tears in the sedated woman's blank eyes and muttered with a sliver of compassion, "Poor thing."

He shoved both of his hands into his tattered trench coat's pockets and dragged his feet as he followed the Inspector out of the room.

* * *

 **The Goddess of Sibyl**

* * *

 **File 01 - Reevaluation**

The red-haired woman's eyes shot open in a panic. The sting of a phantom needle stuck in her arm roused her from her unnatural slumber, but she awoke to something much stranger. The blindingly white room where she had been held was nowhere to be found, nor were the drones that escorted her or hue scanner that watched her. In their stead was a hollow, black abyss that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

"Where… am I?"

The woman tried to speak, but the words in her mind remained thoughts. She was floating along in that dark abyss, unable to move as she felt her muscles still deep in slumber. Her senses too were dull, but she could feel the sensation of something like water against her back and she could feel the cold with strange clarity. It was as if an unseen current dragged the woman along like a river.

"Where am I going?"

The words, again, remained thoughts in the prison of the woman's mind. From the blackness of the ceiling, the black sky above, grey drops of water coalesced. The grey drops steadily grew then fell into the river of black, forming ripples all around her in a measured interval. With every drop that fell, the once serene river of black was disturbed.

Then, a sharp pain struck her mind.

The woman wanted to wince, but her numb body remained motionless in the disturbed waters. She wanted to cry out as the pain seemed to grow, piercing her head was being crushed. All the while, the drops from the black sky faster and faster, turning into a drizzle - then a downpour.

"What's going on?"

As the woman thought of this, a bright, blinding ray of light appeared from up above her, piercing the black sky and wrapping her cold, drenched body in warmth. The pain that had assaulted her was washed away by that light and her senses came rushing back to her. She was able to move again.

The unseen current of the black river came to a halt and the downpour of grey broke up. The woman brought herself upright in the water then looked up to the ray of light that had appeared. There was a figure there in the light - the breathtakingly beautiful figure of a young girl with long locks of pink hair clad in a radiant white dress and a merciful smile that warmed the woman's hardened heart.

For the first time in what felt like a long while, the a smile broke out on the woman's lips and she reached out to the figure in the light with both of her hands as it descended towards her. Then, as the figure approached, the ray of light brightened and the woman's smile widened into a grin.

She felt the figure's hands holding hers, followed by a kiss on her forehead and a tender whisper,

"It's okay now. All is calm. All is bright."

Then the woman's senses left her once more.

* * *

 **File - 02 - The Inmate**

 _December 16, 2110 - Morning_

The red-haired woman awoke in a daze, lying on her back on an uncomfortably hard bed. An unfamiliar grey ceiling with a lone fluorescent lamp greeted her from above to the tune of Bach's _Air In G_ playing on wall-mounted speakers. She sat herself upright on the hard bed with a grunt and a lot of effort and then tried to figure out where she was. Left and right were grey anti-suicide cushions mounted on the walls that smelled of antiseptic and ammonia. Then straight ahead was a wide window of digitalized reinforced glass with a lone beeping powder blue light.

A wave of suspicion washed over the woman as she lowered her head and looked down to her hands. There was a thick, metallic device fastened to her wrist. She turned her arm to look at the back of her wrist and saw the symbol of the Sibyl System engraved on the device's frame.

"Shit." The woman cursed, a shadow forming over her eyes. She cast a distasteful glare at the blinking powder blue light then pushed herself off of her bed.

When she got to her feet, though, blood rushed to her head and she felt terribly lightheaded. She stumbled forward and very nearly fell, staying on her feet as she clung onto the anti-suicide cushions of the walls. The woman gritted her teeth as she gathered herself then willed herself forward towards the digitalized window.

Standing before the window, she reached out to the powder blue light and a panel screen appeared before her and spoke in an irritatingly cheerful and airy tone,

"Good afternoon Inmate 00558-KKRF-51088-P. You are looking well today!"

"Don't shit me." The woman lashed back, but the panel screen seemed to ignore her.

"Your Crime Coefficient today is 197.05 - that's an improvement of twenty basis points. Good job!"

"Goddamn it…" The woman lowered her head. The machine wasn't listening to her at all.

"Inmate, you have an appointment today." The panel screen then spoke, spawning a new window beside it, "The MSWB Therapist will be seeing you in an hour."

"A therapist… huh?" The woman repeated as she watched the windows dissolve before her eyes, "Fine."

 **To Be Continued**

…


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Hello again everyone! Writing TGoS took a bit of a backseat there for a while (balancing MPBT:TF, TGoS and real life can darken hues, i tell you! Don't tell the MSWB though!). Nonetheless, it's here! I managed to finish it alongside MPBT:TF Chapter 10's revision, hehe. So, Merry Christmas to you all!

Here's TGoS Chapter 2!

* * *

 **The Goddess of Sibyl**

* * *

 **File 03 - Therapist Mukojima**

Kyouko Sakura was escorted into a consultation room by a pair of drones. She was sat down on an upholstered chair that was much more comfortable than the bed in her cell. There was a plain white table before her at the end of which was another chair. Strangely enough, they didn't put on any handcuffs, but the retinas of the two drones that escorted her was giving her chills.

A young man with wavy hair then walked into the room and sat down at the other end of the table from Kyouko and introduced himself.

"Good morning, Inmate. I'm Therapist Mukojima from the MSWB." The therapist said as he started tapping on the device on his wrist - a device similar to hers but much sleeker and less imposing, "Your name is 'Kyouko Sakura, yes?"

The red-haired woman's brow crumpled when she looked the therapist in the eye, thinking of some sly remark to say. Before long, though, she heaved a disinterested sigh and said,

"Yeah, I'm Kyouko."

"A straightforward answer. You're more straight-laced than I thought." The therapist seemed amused with himself as he chuckled. Kyouko felt the urge to bash the therapist's smug head into the table - but the mechanical hum of the drones beside her made her reconsider.

"Alright then, Sakura-san." Therapist Mukojima's un-bashed face mellowed down into a businesslike mug as he finished fiddling with the device he wore on his wrist. A formless screen emerged from the face of the device displaying an MSWB data file with a picture of a 14-year old Kyouko. The therapist swiped left and sent the formless screen across the table.

 **...**

 **Name:** Kyouko Sakura

 **ID:** 00558-KKRF-51088-P

 **Age:** 25 (as of October 2110)

 **Born:** 2085

 **Hometown:** Kasamino, Kanagawa Prefecture

 **Latest Crime Coefficient:** 197.05 (10.31.2110)

 **Latest Hue:** Crimson Red

 **...**

"Eugh..." Kyouko grunted as she looked at the bored look of her 14-year old self on the screen. The sight of it ticked her off. Wasn't this place supposed to lower crime coefficients?

"Let's start with updating the databases." The therapist then said, "I would just like to confirm a number of things about your past."

"Do I have to?" Kyouko lazily raised an eyebrow before she leaned into her seat.

The therapist didn't answer. Instead, he wore that sickeningly plastic smile he had ever since got into the room.

"Alright, Sakura-san, let's start with your history from before the crisis." The therapist said as he folded his arms, "You were registered at Mitakihara Junior High School back in 2098 but you didn't attend until 2099. Records showed that you used to hang out and got along really well with one of your schoolmates. Does a name come to mind?"

"Hmm..." Kyouko hummed as she rubbed her chin in thought, "I wouldn't go so far as to say that I 'got along really well' with this person, but I did hang around this girl who transferred into school in the Spring of that year. Her name was Homura Akemi."

"Homura Akemi?" The therapist reacted with a kindly tone, "Well isn't this a surprise - Akemi-san is a common acquaintance of ours."

"I didn't think that mysterious, quiet girl would make friends with plastic-smiling freaks like you." Kyouko honestly spoke her mind.

"Well, Akemi-san is a mystery after all." The therapist laughed lightheartedly. This young man knew that he was being insulted, right? It ticked Kyouko off even more - especially since she completely agreed with him.

Kyouko's memories of 2099 were still hazy at best, as were her memories of Homura Akemi, but there was always a sense of mystery about her. She and Homura were technically both newcomers to the school then, so the two of them more or less got along - but Kyouko never really got a read on her, until the very end.

"I never saw that girl again - after the incident, that is." Kyouko then said. She then glared at the therapist across the table and asked, "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes it does - quite well, thank you." The therapist projected a formless keyboard onto the table from the device on his wrist and then started to type, updating the entry, "So moving on, Sakura-san, could you tell me a little bit about your after-school activities?"

The red-haired woman leaned back into her seat and thought a little bit harder this time around. She did quite a lot of things after school back then, after all, so she couldn't put a finger on exactly what to say. Then a crafty grin grew on her lips as she said,

"Well, I didn't become a therapist, that's for sure!"

"... that... kind of hurt, you know." The therapist, for once, was fazed.

"That's exactly what I was going for." Kyouko crossed her legs and leaned back into a lazy, unladylike position.

The therapist sighed and then updated the file.

"Now then, one last question about the past." The therapist finished typing then turned towards Kyouko with a more serious face and tone than before, "Tell me - what were you doing on that day? Where were you at 8:00PM on May 1, 2099?"

Hearing that question made Kyouko's brow crumple in displeasure. Her red eyes shot from the retina of the hue scanner trained on her to the pair of drones that flanked her in her seat. She then looked at the thick, metal device she now wore on her wrist and clicked her tongue.

"Say, therapist - why don't you tell me where I was? You've got all that surveillance technology, so you probably already know where I was so why the fuck do you have to ask me!?"

The therapist paused for a moment as the smile on his lips waned ever so slightly. He then finally said,

"I'm asking because this surveillance technology is nowhere near perfect." The therapist adjusted his seat and then laid his hands on the table, "You of all people should know that. You have been on the run for quite some time now, after all - until a little over a year ago, at least."

"That so?" Kyouko didn't seem to be all that interested in the therapist's explanation, "Well too bad for you, bud - I don't know where I was, exactly."

"That... will suffice, for now." The therapist got back to typing, "We've now got the pre-Crisis files covered. Let's move on."

"Whatever..." Kyouko sighed.

"Sakura-san, after the crisis, you were transferred to the Shinjuku Ward here in Tokyo and went to school here." The therapist browsed through the files with a sharp eye, "There are some discrepancies here regarding your education. Care to enlighten me?"

"School, huh?" Kyouko seemed to be bored by the topic, "Well, middle school was mandatory for all the refugees from Mitakihara Junior High so I did that at Shinjuku. I even stayed a while and finished High School since I had nothing better to do."

"You're a High School graduate then." The therapist noted as he started typing again, "'You could have taken a technical course', is what most therapists would say in that situation, but I sort of understand why you would choose to leave after High School."

"Isn't saying 'I understand how you feel' something most therapists would say too?" Kyouko poked with a crafty smirk.

"You caught me red-handed." The therapist laughed, "I do notice that you have quite a way with words, Sakura-san."

"Don't tell me you like getting insulted." The red-haired woman raised her eyebrow, "Are you one of those people?"

"Of course not." The therapist replied, but he didn't sound all that convincing. He cleared his throat and then continued, "What I was trying to get at was what you did after High School. Records show that you started to come in contact with the anarchist group 'Movement' sometime in 2106 - that's two years after you finished high school." The therapist faced Kyouko with an appraising look and asked, "What exactly did you do in Movement?"

"Well, to put it simply, I was a con-woman." Kyouko said, speaking with a hint of pride, "I tricked people into giving donations to 'the cause', and I was pretty good at it."

"From the data we've gathered, most of your victims were Mitakihara and Kasamino City refugees." The therapist then said as he finished a flourish of keystrokes, "Testimonies from victims said that you were raising funds for the evangelical mission of a church back in Kasamino."

He then brought up a new formless screen with a news article and the photo.

"However, the priest of that church broke away from their main liturgy and was branded a heretic way back in 2097." The therapist then added, "That same year, he took the lives of his youngest daughter and his wife before taking his own."

Kyouko felt her heart sink as the therapist prattled on about that incident and a shadow formed over her eyes. The therapist noticed Kyouko's change in expression as well as her sudden silence, so he brought his lecture to a halt.

"Apologies, Sakura-san. I seem to have gone on a poorly-chosen tangent. Let me get right back to business." The therapist tapped the face of the device on his wrist and dissolved the formless screens that were floating over the table, "I think you know why I came here to see you today."

"You didn't come here to congratulate me for my improving hue?" Kyouko gave a snide remark, regaining her livelier spirit.

"Well, there is that - that is no small feat, after all." The therapist conceded, "But more than that, I am here to offer you a chance to leave this facility."

"Leave this facility...?" Kyouko raised a brow.

"Yes." Therapist Mukojima said, "The Sibyl System has chosen you as a candidate to become an Enforcer of the MSWB. Your Crime Coefficient has made a lot of progress since you were apprehended after all. Are you interested?"

"Now wait a goddamn minute, Mukojima." Kyouko gave the table a firm, resounding knock, "I can't help but get the feeling that you're taking me for a ride here. What the hell is the Sibyl System anyways? And what are these Crime Coefficient and Hue things, exactly?"

"You really don't know, Sakura-san?" The therapist looked dumbfounded, "The Sibyl System - as well as the metrics it uses - has been in place since 2096, well before the crisis."

"Well, no one really explained it to any of us when it appeared." Kyouko folded her arms with dissatisfaction, "I was 11 years old back then - and my memory of that time is still quite hazy - but none of us understood what it was. Then it faded into the background - gone as quickly as it came." She then crossed her legs and leered at the therapist, "So will you answer my question or not?"

"I guess it can't be helped." The therapist sat upright and heaved a sigh, "You have been out cold for more than a year, so there might still be some gaps in your memory. Allow me to enlighten you then."

The therapist tapped the device on his wrist and then brought up a few formless screens one again. The screens floated over to Kyouko, displaying a mix of pictures and literature. The photo that caught Kyouko's eye, however, was the symbol of the Sibyl System.

As Kyouko was glancing through the screens, the therapist gave his explanation.

"The Sibyl System is, to put it simply, a system that analyzes and measures criminal tendency in this country. They measure criminal tendency as a 'Crime Coefficient' ranging from 0 to 999. The higher a person's coefficient is, the more likely they are to commit a crime. When a person's coefficient reaches 100, they are deemed a 'Latent Criminal', or somebody who is already considering committing a crime.

The same goes for hues. People are assigned a color that represents their mental health - the lighter their color is, the healthier their state of mind is. The darker it is... well... I think you already have an idea what that means now. To simply put it, Crime Coefficient and the color of a person's hue often goes hand in hand. When a person's coefficient reaches 100, or if their hue darkens considerably, then that person must surrender to the authorities for therapy and counselling."

"My coefficient's 197.05..." Kyouko hummed, "And my hue is..."

"Crimson red." The therapist said, passing Kyouko a formless screen with her statistics, "It's an improvement from what you had when you were first checked in to the facility, but it's still dark. Regardless, when it comes to coefficient or to hue, you're a Latent Criminal." The therapist then folded his arms as he said, "As a matter of fact, you already have committed crimes - fraud and extortion mostly. You refused to surrender yourself to authorities - so the authorities captured you and brought you here."

"How nice of them." Kyouko clicked her tongue with displeasure.

"You are fortunate though, Sakura-san." The therapist cautioned.

"Why is that?" Kyouko asked.

"If your Crime Coefficent reached 300, then that means that the Sibyl System has deemed your existence a threat to society." The therapist faced Kyouko with a grim expression and said, "The police would have permission to kill you on sight."

Kyouko didn't reply, falling into a contemplative silence. Slivers of memories surfaced in her mind - she remembered a blur of a police raid, the violent fire of molotov cocktails and the horrifying sight of a person's head expanding grotesquely before it exploded in a bloody mess. Sweat formed on her brow as the hazy memory fluttered in her head and her imagination ran wild.

"Sakura-san?" The therapist noticed his patient's silence.

"I'm fine. Keep going." The red-haired woman stubbornly spat, but she was still visibly rattled by her own thoughts.

"No, you're not." The therapist refused, "Let's end it here today. The drones will escort you back to you cell."

"But what about the offer...?" Kyouko tried to argue, but the therapist was adamant.

"People from the MSWB will visit you in a few days or so." The therapist then reassured, "Be sure to give it some thought - but don't push yourself. Your condition has stabilized and you have recovered magnificently, but your recovery is still far from over." He then dissolved his screens and stood up from his chair, "Farewell, Sakura-san."

 **To Be Continued**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Goddess of Sibyl**

* * *

 **File 04 - A Little Bit Peckish**

 _October 31, 2110 - Early Evening_

Kyouko Sakura returned to her cell with a bit of a headache from her talk with Therapist Mukojima. The slivers of memories that surfaced from time to time in her mind were still weren't helping her either. Lately, she was remembering the police raid where she was captured - a memory she didn't exactly want to remember. As much as Kyouko racked her mind, however, she couldn't remember why she was there in the raid at the first place. Was she doing another one of her con-jobs for that anarchist group again? She couldn't tell.

"Ah, screw it." Kyouko moaned, leaping backwards into the bed of her cell. Staring at the drab grey ceiling of her cell, she wondered just she could do to shake off the unpleasant memories.

Before long, her stomach gave her an answer and grumbled.

Her meeting with the therapist went on much longer than she had thought. The last time she ate was quite a while back already, it seemed. It was time to 'order' some food, she thought with a heavy heart. Even though Kyouko loved food, she wasn't all that enthusiastic about ordering.

Two nutrition-fortified oat bars with a packet of flavoring gel - that was the usual 'meal' that was served to her in her cell. 'Hyper-oats bars', they were called - the miracle food that eradicated hunger from Japan. Just thinking about those oat bars, though, was almost enough to eradicate her appetite but never quite went all the way. Kyouko winced when she thought about shoving another one of those cardboard-like 'food products' into her mouth, but she _was_ hungry. Defying her own gag reflex, she walked over to the computer panel at her viewing window and requested a food delivery with a couple of keystrokes.

Once Kyouko hit 'enter', the panel sounded a beep and then spoke to her.

"Inmate 00558-KKRF-51088-P, due to your improving Crime Coefficient and hue, you have been granted access to the facility's inmate mess hall for your meals."

"A mess hall, huh?" Kyouko hummed with intrigue, "Please tell me they serve better food there than those goddamned bars."

The screen then displayed a small menu with pictures. There was an assortment of simple meals - potatoes and meat with tomato soup was that evening's fare - that helped Kyouko make up her mind.

"Goddamn - real food! Sign me up, computer-thingy!" Kyouko said gamely, "So… uh, how do I get there exactly? I'm trapped in a high-security box, you know."

"Please wait - a pair of drones will escort you to the mess hall shortly." The screen then announced, "After your meal, you will be escorted back."

"Sure, sure. Just get me to my food already." Kyouko said with a grin as she looked at the menu pictures with delight, "It's been so damn long."

* * *

 **File 05 - Amari and Torii**

A few minutes later, the hungry Kyouko arrived at the mess hall with the two security drones flanking her. The drones opened the mess hall doors for her and closed it once she stepped through. The red-haired inmate wore a small smile. Having to eat her food with those two wheeled trash cans watching her up close was enough to make her puke.

Kyouko grabbed her share of food - twice the normal ration size of meat and potatoes, but she didn't bother to get any tomato soup. With her food tray filled with a decent pile, she started to look around the mess hall for a place to sit.

The hall was a rather modest space. There were no more than a dozen tables in the hall and even less inmates occupying them. On her way there, Kyouko must have counted thousands of occupied prison cells spread out over a number of wards. Whoever designed the facility must have thought that more of the inmates kept there would have healthier minds. There were more cameras and hue scanners in that room than there were people. As a matter of fact, the food servers were all drones.

"This is kind of depressing." Kyouko sighed as her eyes swept around the hall once more.

There were a total of four people eating there in the mess hall that evening, occupying three of the twelve tables. Even in the exclusive 'marginally healthy minds club', the inmate members avoided each other, Kyouko thought.

There was a pair young women, a blonde and a black-haired one, seated together at one table - the only two people sharing a table in the hall - and they seemed to be having a lively chat. The two young women were just a little bit older than Kyouko. The blonde seemed rather lively, wearing her hair in fashionable pigtails and laughing heartily as she cracked jokes. The black-haired woman was much more reserved and was busy reading through a small pocket book as she listened to her friend's rambles.

A few tables away, a young man with wavy red hair and rings in his eyes was sitting alone. He had his food laid out before him, but he didn't seem to be touching it much. He was engrossed in a formless screen that hovered slightly over his wrist-mounted device. Kyouko probably could have sat there, finished her whole meal then get out without him ever noticing that she was there.

Then, much further away, an older, middle-aged woman sat alone in the corner. She seemed to be a little bit familiar to Kyouko, but the red-haired girl wasn't quite sure. The older woman's fixation with the shaker of salt on her table also told Kyouko to steer clear of her.

It was at this time that the blond-haired young woman from the shared table waved to Kyouko and gestured her to come on over. For a lack of better choice, Kyouko obliged and set her tray down on their table. The blond smiled at Kyouko when she sat down while the dark-haired one took one glance at Kyouko before returning her eyes to her pocket book.

"Hey there!" The blonde started with an earnest, friendly expression, "My name's Hina Amari - and my friend here is Tsubasa Torii. Nice to meet you!"

The black-haired woman gave Kyouko a polite nod before sinking back into her reading again. If there was such a thing as a 'resting bored face', this 'Torii' woman had it.

"Nice to meet ya too." Kyouko said as she laid down her food tray, "The name's Kyouko Sakura."

"Well met, Sakura-san." Amari reciprocated with a new smile, while Torii gave another nod before she extended her left hand to Kyouko.

"Huh?" Kyouko was dumbfounded at first, but then Torii pointed to the metal device on her wrist.

"She wants to exchange contact information." Amari then spoke on Torii's behalf. Torii then pouted at Amari and the blonde broke off into a lighthearted chuckle. Amari then extended her right hand to Kyouko, pointed to her own device then asked, "Sakura-san, please bring your WristComm over here - exchanging information is pretty easy with these things!"

"So that's what this was for." Kyouko hummed with intrigue, giving her 'WristComm' device a fascinated once-over. She placed her WristComm in between Torii's and Amari's and her device suddenly beeped. Two formless screens then appeared, displaying a short brief on the information of the two women.

...

 **Name:** Hina Amari

 **ID:** 00399-TCNE-72891-E

 **Occupation:** MSWB Division 3 Enforcer (Former)

...

 **Name:** Tsubasa Torii

 **ID:** 00372-TCNB-73821-E

 **Occupation:** MSWB Division 3 Enforcer (Former)

…

"The two of you were former Enforcers in the MSWB..." Kyouko was surprised as she scrolled through their files.

"Indeed we were." Amari said with a bit of a tired smile, "When a person becomes a Latent Criminal, we're stripped of most of the rights and freedoms that normal citizens with healthy minds enjoy."

"Freedom of movement in particular." Torii finally spoke as she scrolled through Kyouko's file in return, "We're confined to facilities like these and separated from the rest of society as if we were carrying some sort of disease. Any employment opportunities, business ventures, even marriage prospects vanish into thin air once you're branded a Latent Criminal."

The black-haired young woman then turned to Kyouko with a serious expression and said, "This society's biggest fear is Nietzschean - that if you stare into the abyss, the abyss will stare back at you."

"Shit, that's tough." A frown formed on Kyouko's lips.

Reading through Amari's and Torii's files, Kyouko's frown deepened. Amari was confined in the facility at a very young age, flagged as a Latent Criminal as early as elementary school. In spite of that, she still managed to earn a high school accreditation while studying behind bars. Torii, on the other hand, was a published writer who was flagged during her university days.

"Tsubasa and I became friends here in the facility." Amari said with a small smile, "I was a fan of her books and she helped me study to get my school credits. In exchange, I helped her edit her works and sometimes interpret for her."

Torii promptly glowered at Amari, but the blonde-haired woman just laughed.

"It's true though, Tsubasa!" Amari stuck out her tongue, "Tsubasa here goes on tangents all the time and does all these weird gestures, so it's kinda hard to keep track of what she's trying to say sometimes."

Amari then grinned at Kyouko and said, "I've cracked her code though, so I can interpret for her."

"Is that so…" Kyouko hummed, "Who would you have had to interpret for, though? Inmates hardly get to meet each other in this facility, and people still do keep to themselves."

"Tsubasa and I got out of the facility once for a job." Amari then said in a light tone, "There is one occupation that we, Latent Criminals, are able to take after all. If the Sibyl System concludes that you have the skills, the right attitude and a healthy enough mind, then you may be offered the chance to become an Enforcer in the MSWB's Criminal Investigation Department."

"'Enforcer', huh?" Kyouko repeated. She looked at the two women seated at the table before her. It only occurred to Kyouko then that the two of them were actually closely watching her, observing her with inquisitive eyes. Those were the eyes of investigators alright - seasoned investigators who knew their jobs inside and out.

Kyouko remembered Therapist Mukojima's offer just over an hour ago,

" _The Sibyl System has chosen you as a candidate to become an Enforcer of the MSWB… Are you interested_?"

Kyouko rubbed her temple as the curiosity in her mind brewed. Thus, she turned to the two ex-MSWB Enforcers and asked them about the job. Amari smiled at the question and happily obliged. This time, though, Torii also joined in on the conversation as well.

Torii had a lot of strong opinions about working for the MSWB as an Enforcer. It was easy for Kyouko to see that Torii wasn't completely sold on the whole idea. Torii joined her hands together on the table and then faced Kyouko to explain,

"It's not glorious, Sakura-san, I'll tell you that now. Long story short, you become a hunting dog of the police. The basic concept is - we're Latent Criminals, so we tend to have a better understanding of the criminal mind. We can put ourselves in the shoes of criminals and use that insight to corner criminals and apprehend them. More often than not, though, we end up having to kill them."

Torii's voice then grew frigid as she added, "That's another thing that the Sibyl System takes into account - we Latent Criminals aren't afraid to kill."

Watching Torii speak told Kyouko that this was that Torii was someone who had killed before and had seen people being killed. The firmness of Torii's voice and the unyielding look in her eyes made Kyouko wonder just how many deaths this girl had seen.

Flickers of remorse were flashing here and there in Torii's eyes, of course, but her composed expression never wavered. Amari, on the other hand, showed much more regret than her friend.

Once Torii finished her explanation, she turned to Kyouko and promptly deduced,

"You've been offered a job as an Enforcer, haven't you?"

Kyouko was surprised by the woman's perception, so she conceded with a small nod.

"If I were you, Sakura-san, I would think long and hard before you take on that position." Torii advised in a measured tone, "But you have to make peace with one indomitable fact - there's no coming back from becoming a Latent Criminal."

The black-haired girl set down her book on the table firmly and continued,

"They will come to you and promise you a chance to work on your hue and improve your Crime Coefficient - but that is just wishful thinking. That's how they get you." She then turned over to her friend with a look of compassion and added, "Amari and I have been trying for years now, but our hues only got worse - especially after all the shit we've had to see and endure. It's why we're back here in the facility."

Amari turned to Kyouko and gave a somber nod of agreement.

"We've managed to recover enough to regain our mess hall privileges again." Amari then added, "But Torii is right - you have to set your expectations, Sakura-san."

"Don't worry - I'm not really hoping for a miracle anyways." Kyouko said, "I'll definitely think carefully about it. Thanks."

* * *

 **File 06 - Job Offer**

 _November 5, 2110 - Morning_

The next few days flowed on by as they always did - with Kyouko lazing around her cell, basically waiting for the next mealtime to come. More often than not, she ate at the facility's mess hall with Amari and Torii. Sometimes it was just Amari - and sometimes it was just Torii - but Kyouko didn't really mind. The meals at the mess hall were worlds apart from hyper-oats bars anyways after all, and she quite enjoyed the company of the two former Enforcers.

When morning came on November 5th, though, Kyouko awoke to see the powder blue light of her cell window terminal beeping - it was a notification, just like when Therapist Mukojima made an appointment with her. This was the day, Kyouko thought. The red-haired woman got out of bed and then got ready for the inevitable.

Kyouko was escorted again by a pair of drones through the facility. This time, though, she was headed for the visitor viewing center all the way at the other end of the facility. The drones led Kyouko through the facility's many cells where she saw a plethora of disturbing sights - people with unfocused eyes drawing ominous things on the wall, people sitting curiously in the corner of their cells in absolute silence, people screaming muffled screams. The red-haired woman stopped paying attention after the first two dozen cells - watching them and listening to them only made her feel depressed. She wondered just how bad those people's hues and Crime Coefficients have gotten .

She earnestly wished that she wouldn't end up like one of them.

On the way to the viewing center, though, she passed by the cells of Amari and Torii who were across the hall from each other. The two of them waved to her as she passed on by. Torii gave Kyouko an encouraging thumbs up, but Kyouko didn't know if it meant 'Take the job!' or 'Stick it to the man!'. She turned to Amari's cell for an interpretation, but the blonde shrugged with confusion.

So with that, Kyouko waved back to the two ex-Enforcers and carried on down the hall into the visitors' center.

Kyouko was seated on a swivel chair behind the visitors' window and the drones left her once again. When she looked at the glass, she couldn't see through the other side.

"A hologram layer, huh?" Kyouko recognized the minute distortions of the mirror with her keen eye. It wasn't that intricate, she thought. An avid arcade-goer like her has seen much more complex and believable holograms than whatever this facility had. Moments later, as she expected, the opaque mirror transformed into a transparent window and she finally managed to see the other side.

Seated beyond the mirror was a golden-haired young woman in a fashionable khaki blazer over a blouse with a matching knit khaki scarf. She wore her hair in distinctly- curled pigtails with twin floral hairpins. All-in-all, she looked like a civilian - but Kyouko knew better. This woman had a 'WristComm' device similar to the Therapist's. She was from the MSWB.

"Good morning, Sakura-san." The woman spoke in a friendly tone. She then wore a smile for the red-haired woman and introduced herself, "My name is Mami Tomoe - I'm a Junior Inspector of the MSWB. I'm here to talk to you about our job offer. Have you already made up your mind?"

 **To Be Continued**


End file.
